


Found Family

by zuppi



Series: Life is what happens... [10]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), But mostly fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Infertility
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23540137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zuppi/pseuds/zuppi
Summary: Callum loves children... but it is almost impossible for an elf and a human to have a child.He insists he will always be happy with just the two of them, yet Rayla can't fight the feeling he is still hoping for a miracle.
Relationships: Callum & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Series: Life is what happens... [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700521
Comments: 57
Kudos: 271





	Found Family

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to just be a little drabble about Rayla holding a baby and here we are. 
> 
> Warning for infertility/conception problems.

She sees him.

Can’t help but.

Sees how he is with Soren's children.

The way he dotes on them. The soft, fond look on his face when they smile at him. Laugh at his silly faces.

And it breaks her heart.

She knows logically they have spoken about this.

She insisted upon it before agreeing to marry him.

The chances of an elf and a human having a child are vanishingly rare.

He’s always been an optimist though and the first few years of marriage he would joke about how they always played the odds. How fortune seemed to favour them.

How they could overcome anything.

But it seems he was wrong about this.

As a Moonshadow elf, she is painfully aware of her cycles, knows instinctively when the best time to try is.

It doesn’t make a difference.

She has resigned herself to it never happening. She had never really thought she wanted children until it seemed like an intangible fantasy.

He insists he is content, that the two of them is all the family he needs, but then she sees him with children... and she knows.

He is still hoping for a miracle.

“Do you ever... regret-"

They are lying in their bed in Katolis.

He sits up and frowns at her. “Regret? Regret what?”

It is close to midnight but the moon is full and she cannot relax.

She feels charged with its primal energy.

Usually this... buzz results in a long, enjoyable night for both of them, even more so since he forged his connection to the Moon Primal, but neither seem inclined tonight.

She sighs. “If you married a human, you’d probably have a whole brood by now.”

Callum’s face softens and he reaches for her. “Rayla, I have never wanted to be with anyone but you.”

She looks away, blinking back tears. She knows that's not strictly true but it's true enough. “Even if you knew it meant you would never have children?”

He lies beside her and pushes a lock of loose hair behind her ear. “You don’t know it won’t happen. It hasn’t been that long. Even some human couples go years before-"

“What if it never happens, Callum? Will you... will you not regret...?”

He moves forward and kisses her softly. “I’ll never regret being with you.” He bites his lip and she sees the hint of tears in his eyes. “I won’t lie... I would love children. But children with you. Not just... children.”

She smiles against the pain in her chest, reaching out for his hand. “Me too.”

\---

She wanders through the village, keenly aware of the human eyes on her. Few are hostile these days, most are simply curious.

She grins at the group of children that have begun to follow her. She walks along feigning indifference, then turns suddenly and rushes them.

They shriek happily and run away.

They continue this game back and forth until the children tire and she manages to “catch" the smallest, swinging him around dramatically.

“Come now, you little devils! Leave Lady Rayla in peace!” A plump nursemaid scolds the children as they climb all over her.

They are fascinated by her Elven features, poking her horns and ears, pulling on her fingers, gazing at her cheek markings.

“It’s just Rayla and they’re fine.” She laughs as the woman walks towards her.

She is cradling a tiny baby, clearly very new from the strangled cries they are making.

The woman plops next to her, scolding the few children who continue to harass Rayla.

Rayla glances at the tiny bundle fussing in the other woman’s arms. “Looks wee.”

“Aye, she is, milady. Poor little mite all alone in this world.”

Rayla frowns, peering at the tiny red faced baby. “All alone?”

“The fever took her pa last winter. Usually it’s a childhood thing but it’s much worse in adults. Adult elves especially. Her mother went bringin’ her into this world, rest her soul.” The woman hugged the little one close.

“She’s a halfling?” Rayla swallows, her throat dry.

“Aye.” The nursemaid pulls back the blanket a little, showing Rayla the babies slightly pointed ears and the soft nubs that will become horns. Rayla glances at the little one’s hands and fingers.

Five digits.

“Oh.” Rayla reaches out to fix the blanket over a tiny foot. “What will happen to her?”

The woman sighs. “Unless a family here can take her, she’ll be sent to the orphanage in Katolis.” The woman looks a little contrite. “Begging your pardon, milady, but I think it’s unlikely she’ll be taken in here. Still not many elves around these parts and human parents, well, they don’t know how to raise an elven child.”

Rayla frowns.

“Would you like to hold her, milady?” The woman asks her quietly.

“Em, I’m not sure-” 

She is cut off by the wailing of one of the younger children who was crowding Rayla.

“Oh no,” The woman tries to get to her feet, still clutching the newborn.

“I... I can take her?” Rayla offers, belatedly realising she should have just offered to tend to the crying toddler.

But it is too late and the woman is already offering her the tiny baby.

Rayla is shocked at how light the little one is. How tiny. She’s never held a baby this small before. Days old.

The baby cries initially but Rayla instinctively gets to her feet and begins softly swaying and rocking and almost immediately the little girl begins cooing.

Rayla laughs as the tiny child yawns long and hard, then snuggles into her chest and settles down to sleep.

The woman comes back, a sniffling child on her hip. “Would you look at that? Asleep! You’re a natural, Lady Rayla.”

Rayla cannot help but smile, her chest full as the tiny child grips at her hood in her sleep, her tiny fingers so small and perfectly formed.

She looks up at the woman before her eyes snap to Callum standing behind her.

He is watching them intently, his eyes on the tiny child cradled in her arms.

The nurse maid follows Rayla’s gaze, starting when she notices Callum. “Prince Callum!” She bows, gesturing that the assembled children to do the same.

“No, please.” Callum holds up his hand.

“Finished already?” Rayla asks softly.

Callum nods, smiling at Rayla in a way she’s never seen before.

\---

She lies, cradled against his bare chest, her fingers drawing lazy circles across his stomach.

The inn is humble, but she likes it. Even after all these years, she still struggles with the opulence of the castle.

“How much longer will we be here, do you think?” She rarely has much in the way of opinion about where they spend their time. They go where they are needed.

But… she is liking it here. She’s not quite ready to leave this little village.

Callum sighs, his own fingers gently caressing the small of her back. “Another day. Maybe two.” He looks down at her. “Why?”

She shrugs, smiling up at him. “Just wondering.”

\---

She finds herself back at the school again. It is early and the children are at lessons, but the nursemaid beckons her when she spies her. Rayla sits with the children and tells them about Xadia while the woman, Aoife, tends to the tiny baby.

She is trying to get her to take a bottle of goat’s milk. There’s no wet nurse and so they are doing what they can.

Rayla can see the woman getting frustrated and she offers to take the fussing child to give Aoife a break.

“Thank you, milady.” Aoife wipes her eyes. “It is hard not to get upset when they refuse the bottle. If she won’t drink…” She shakes her head.

Rayla takes the bottle, not really thinking she will have any luck. She thinks back upon when they first got their Shadowpaw. The poor thing was the only survivor of her litter. Even her mother perished. The tiny mewing thing rejected every attempt at feeding and Runaan told her to prepare herself for its death.

In desperation, Ethari let it suck his finger. It accepted that and slowly, painfully, they coaxed it onto a bottle.

Rayla frowns at the upset baby. Would that technique work on halflings?

She rests her finger against the baby’s mouth and is surprised when the tiny baby roots around instinctively, latching onto her finger and sucking strongly. Rayla lines the bottle up behind her finger and once the baby opens her mouth slightly, she slips the teat into her mouth. The child protests for a moment, then seems to decide she will drink.

Rayla grins, delighted to see the little one eating.

The tiny child drinks her fill, eyes rolling back in her head as she fights sleep. Rayla chuckles softly, pulling the bottle away and rocking back and forth. With one last exaggerated yawn, the little girl pushes her face against Rayla’s breast and succumbs to sleep.

“Beg your pardon, milady.”

Rayla looks up at Aoife’s whisper.

“I believe Prince Callum is looking for you.”

“Oh, thank you.” Rayla looks down at the sleeping child. She finds she doesn’t want to give her back.

“Shall I tell one of the children to fetch him?” Aoife smiles softly at her.

“If it’s not too much trouble. I just got her to sleep.” She feels she needs to explain.

“No trouble at all, milady.” The woman closes the door softly.

It seems to take longer than she anticipated to find Callum and the child is stirring when he eventually pokes his head around the door.

“Here you are.” He whispers, slipping into the room.

Rayla smiles at him, inclining her head to the baby in her arms.

“Asleep?” Callum breathes, tip toeing over to her.

“Just waking up.” Rayla leans forward to give Callum a look.

He reaches out and ghosts his fingers along the infants slightly pointed ear. “It’s true then.” He looks up at Rayla. “She’s a halfling.”

Rayla nods.

“What kind of elf?” Callum looks back at the child.

“Aoife isn’t sure. She said she thought her father was a Bird elf-” Callum snorts. “So, I guess, Skywing. It’s hard to tell from her skin tone.”

Callum grins at the faces the little one makes as she slowly wakes up. “I’ve never seen a baby this small. She’s so little.”

“Do you want to hold her?” Rayla offers but Callum shakes his head.

“No, she looks happy where she is.”

\---

“Not hungry?”

Rayla starts out of her reverie, looking over at Callum. He has finished his breakfast while hers remains relatively untouched.

“I guess not.” She sips her tea, now a little colder than she would like.

“Ezran wrote that Ellis is on her way to Katolis. It’ll be nice to see her again.”

She can tell Callum is trying to cheer her up. “Just comin’ for a casual visit, is she?” Rayla rolls her eyes.

“That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.” Callum chuckles.

“Pfft, who do they think they’re foolin’?” Rayla shakes her head, laughing as well.

“Beg your pardon, highnesses?”

They glance around to find the stable hand shifting from one foot to another just inside the dining room.

“Yes?” Callum sits up a little straighter.

“Em, your horses are ready, your highness.” The young boy looks ready to die from nerves.

“Thank you.” Callum says kindly.

They mount up and urge their horses out of the village. Generally, they would prefer to take a back road or leave before the villagers are up, but over the years they have come to realise that everyone wants to thank them for their help and bid them farewell.

Callum is better at this than Rayla, though she has improved.

He speaks kindly to the villagers as they pay their respects. Rayla finds her eyes drifting to the school where she has spent most of her time while here. The children are gathered in the doorway, waving enthusiastically. Aoife stands next to them, attempting to sooth the halfling child.

Rayla guides her horse towards them.

She grins at the chorus of “bye Lady Rayla” and “see ya, Prince Callum.” Aoife scolds them for their informality but Callum and Rayla laugh heartily.

“Thank you again for all your help, highnesses.” Aoife curtsies.

“It was no trouble.” Callum bows his head, before his eyes fall to the fussing baby. “What… what is going to happen to her?”

Aoife smiles sadly at the small child. “She’ll be going to the orphanage in Katolis when someone is next heading that way. Too many hungry mouths to feed here, unfortunately.”

“Oh.” Callum looks at the little one sadly.

“We can take her.” Rayla has spoken before she has a chance to think.

Callum looks at her, his brow furrowed.

“If you want, that is.” Rayla flushes. “We’re going to Katolis now so, if you want…”

“Oh, I couldn’t trouble you, your highness.” Aoife shifts the struggling baby.

“It’s no trouble.”

Rayla is shocked to hear Callum’s soft voice.

“We’re happy to take her.” He smiles at Rayla.

It takes an hour or so to get the babies necessities ready for the journey. They manage to get some milk into her before they leave, and she is sleeping happily in Rayla’s arms as they prepare to set off once again.

Aoife hands the baby to Rayla as she mounts her horse.

She cradles the sleeping child, the reigns of her horse tied to her saddle. She is a more than capable rider and can easily grip with her thighs if her horse has Callum’s to follow.

They are little over a day’s ride from Katolis, though it will be late afternoon by the time they arrive, given their late start and more frequent breaks needed to feed the child.

Callum is cooing over the baby when she climbs into the tent after a toilet break.

He smiles at her and she crawls next to them, lying on the other side of the baby.

“She was making the funniest noises.” Callum grins. “Come on, little one. Do it again.”

Rayla smiles as the baby grunts, pulling her legs up to her stomach.

“Well, the noises you made before were cuter, but that’s not bad.” Callum gently squeezes her little finger.

“We’ll see if you still think she’s cute when she’s waking you every two hours.” Rayla swaddles the baby as she yawns and begins rubbing her eyes.

“She’ll always be cute.” Callum strokes her hair, his fingers softly touching her little horn stubs. “So do elf babies come out with little horns like this or do you think it’s just halflings?”

Rayla scoffs, resting her head in her hand. “Of course elf babies don’t come out with horns. I don’t think you’d have many elf women agreeing to birth a baby with horns!”

Callum chuckles. “Well, when you put it like that.”

\---

They set out early the next morning, having been woken before light by a hungry baby.

She seems to like the lazy pace of the horse and sleeps happily cradled in Rayla’s arms.

Something akin to dread settles over Rayla as they approach the castle walls. Her horse dutifully follows Callum’s as they make their way through the streets.

Callum guides his horse to a large building she knows is the orphanage.

He glances back at her and she feels the tears well up at the look in his eyes.

As if on instinct, her horse slows and stops.

Callum guides his back to stand next to her. “Rayla.” He says gently.

She swallows, her throat tight as she looks down at the sleeping child in her arms. “Callum,” She whispers. “I… I don’t want to let her go.” She holds the little girl tighter against her.

“Ok.” Callum says softly, reaching out to stroke her arm. “Let’s go.”

She looks up to find him smiling at her, tears glistening in the corner of his eyes. “Really?” She breathes.

“She doesn’t have anyone else.” He pulls the cloth back a little to see the sleeping child. “And I think she likes you.”

They elect not to make anyone aware they are back straight away, proceeding quietly to their quarters.

Rayla settles on the bed, gently laying the child down. The little girl stirs, instinctively reaching out. Rayla shuffles closer to her, rapping an arm around her tiny body.

She takes a deep breath. “Callum, are you sure? Are we…” She looks up at him, her heart racing at the soft expression on his face. “Are we really keeping her?”

He crawls onto the bed behind her, wrapping his arm around her and the small baby. He is careful to avoid Rayla’s horns as he lays his head next to hers. “She needs a Mum and a Dad, doesn’t she?” He kisses the top of Rayla’s head.

“You don’t mind she’s not… yours?” Rayla strokes his hand.

“I don’t remember my birth father, but I still loved Harrow as a Dad.” He pulls her closer. “Ethari is not your blood father, but you love him too. Runaan as well.” He sighs into her hair. “Blood isn’t what makes family.

Rayla feels happy tears sting her eyes as she laughs.

He’s right though. Coming from the unconventional families they do, it should be no surprise to her that Callum would embrace this child.

“What will we call her?” Callum hugs Rayla closer to him.

She considers for a moment. “How about Tio? It means 'gift' in High Elven.” She looks back at him.

“Tio?” He sits up and looks at the little girl. “I like it.” He settles back behind Rayla. “Hello little Tio, welcome to our family.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little oneshot. 
> 
> Coming from a family with adoptive children, I know personally that blood isn't the only thing needed to love and bond with a child. 
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is always welcome. 
> 
> Thanks!


End file.
